The Cresting Tide
by Dark Angel Fall
Summary: What will become of what once was, when a new leaf is turned? And why do all the worst things come at the times when things were once so perfect? Can anyone handle the emotional scarring to fully bear the title NINJA?
1. Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto(c). I am merely a fan of the series writing my own version of events.

A/N: Please read and review! All comments are welcomed! WARNING: Mature themes are mentioned, and language is profound.

**Chapter 1: Awakening**

She stared at her reflection in the mirror…This was the final straw…there would be no more mercy, no more doubts or questions of her choice. She was going to follow through with everything that she had prepared for. Leaving a flower on the floor of the shrine, she left.

XxXxX

He gazed up at the sky above.

"Pretty good entertainment, huh?"

Sasuke looked down to the earth to notice Shikamaru Nara lying on the ground beneath his feet. "I guess you could say that. However, it just seems as if the air holds all answers to my questions."

Taking a sidelong glance at the Uchiha, Shikamaru shot back, "Don't tell me you're now having second thoughts about the whole thing. I mean, it's only supposed to happen when? Tomorrow, wasn't it?"

The Uchiha sighed. "No, inheritance of this new binding is something I'm not too confident about."

"Ha, none of us are too sure of our choices until much later in life." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. Shika shrugged. "I mean, I always said that women were troublesome, and I have to disagree at times about my girlfriend."

"Hn. We only think of our lives now. We don't even bother looking to the future anymore, no more thoughts of what will be down the path."

"Funny you should say that," a new voice cut in. The boys looked up to see the famous Copy-Nin looking down at them from his perch at the top of the tree.

"Still watching over us are you, Kakashi?" Kakashi gazed down fondly at his former pupil. Obsidian eyes mirrored his own right eye.

"I guess so." He sighed. "I still can't get over this, I mean just yesterday it seemed you and I were wrestling in our first practice. Tch, tch, time does pass so quickly, don't you think?"

Shika stared up in surprise, momentarily distracted. "Are you getting sentimental on us?" Shaking his head, he said, "I guess your age is catching up to you."

"Hmph. I'm not that old. I'm only 34," Kakashi bluntly stated. The sound of laughter reached their ears.

Naruto popped out of the earth. "You're only 34 and you are still chasing after us to marry and look at yourself, still single!"

Kakashi shrugged. "Just because I haven't married doesn't mean I'm completely void of social interactions."

Naruto snorted as Sasuke got up to leave. "I've got to go think bout some stuff." The other three men watched his retreating figure.

"Alright. Pay up."

"WHAT?!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "You don't make a bet against the Copy-Nin and expect to win."

Grumbling, Naruto was about to take out his wallet and pulled out a wad of bills when he suddenly changed tactics. "Aww, come on Kakashi-sensei, what if we change up the terms of the bet and I treat you to some ramen, then you call off the bet? Doesn't that sound much better than me paying up money?"

"Sorry, Naruto, but that's not going to work this time. Let's just say we sealed the deal on money, you're paying with money. Naruto sighed and extended his hand over to Kakashi who took the bills gingerly and tucked them into his pocket.

Shikamaru's eyes almost popped out as he finally realized the exact amount being paid up. "You bet him **that** much?" Naruto shrugged and walked off, humiliated by his loss.

XxXxX

She ran as fast as she could, having not realized how much time she had wasted at the temple praying, that she would be late to work. Almost running into another civilian, she sprang up onto the roof of a nearby building and bounded towards the hospital. Not caring whether her uniform was ruined or not, she started to use chakra to enhance her speed. She was _fine_ until a pair of _**very**_ strong arms grabbed her around the waist and into a complete stop. She lurched forward a bit and shut her eyes as her world was suddenly disoriented. She opened her eyes, only to find herself staring at someone's ass. Her eyes shifted farther down, only to see the floor, the solid roof, move away from her. And this ass belonged to someone very familiar with her fighting style, if she had guessed correctly, and she wouldn't know, after all, it _wasn't_ like she really had _time_ to be checking out guys' asses. _I mean, it's not like you can really identify a guy __**just**__ by looking at his ass, _she thought.

Well, whoever it was, she did sincerely hope that it was one of her team members, because at this point, the motion sickness of the constant bounding was starting to further disorient her already disoriented brain. Not wanting to speak up for fear of guessing the wrong person having picked her up, she wrestled with herself to talk.

"How are you holding up?" A _very_ familiar voice asked.

She groaned. "Is _**now**_ really the time to ask me this? I'm really going to be late for work!"

"I know," he cheerfully yelled back. "I'm just trying to get you there a little faster. Sorry about having to carry you this way, but it was the only method that I could think of without you punching the shit out of me."

Her only response was a loud groan. She finally sputtered out, "How much longer?"

He didn't reply. Once again, she was flipped around. She closed her eyes as the sudden movement (_once again,_) sent her mind whirling around in circles. When she finally stopped feeling so dizzy she opened up her eyes to see…

Sky-blue eyes. Whiskers. A big fat grin (a _cheesy_ grin, as she called it). And the necklace dangling haphazardly from his neck.

"Argh…Naruto you asshole!" _Not again with the ass!!_ She mentally thought.

"Well, we're here." She didn't move. "Aww, come on Sakura, don't tell me you're mad! We're at the top of the medical center. You can get up now." She refused to move a limb. He finally bent down close enough to look at her face. **WHAM!** Big _mistake_, if ever. He skidded almost to the edge of the building lattice, only to roll over to stare at a pair of feet wearing sandals.

"NARUTO! IF YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN, GIVE ME A WARNING FIRST _BEFORE_ YOU SNATCH ME OFF THE GROUND!" Her voice thundered in his ears. He was glad he hadn't rolled over a little more, for if he had rolled up some more, he would've been looking up her skirt…and there was no doubt that she would've **really killed** him then and there if she had caught him doing so.

"Sakura?" She heard him faintly ask.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"Could you back up a few feet?" She rolled her eyes. At least he had the _decency_ to actually warn her about wanting to roll up. She did as he requested and he sat up, still winded.

"Alright, I'm sorry." He grinned up at her from the ground. _No wonder why I couldn't recognize it as being him; he's not wearing the normal orange jumpsuit!_ She smacked her head mentally. _Really should've guessed that he wouldn't be wearing that especially coming back from another mission._

"I solemnly swear I'll give you fair warning next time." With another grin, he glanced down at his wrist. "You're about 15 seconds from being 'late'." She groaned and ran for the hatch into the building. He stood up, knowing fully well that her argument was _far_ from _over_. He was just relieved that for now, he was safe from being pummeled into little bits and pieces by _her _freakishly inhumane strength.

XxXxX

On another building, a lone figure watched the two of them. He watched as the rosette haired beauty slammed a supple limb into the man's body.

He was a divided man. Even as he watched her with contentment, a war raged on inside him. Part of him wanted to reach out to the woman and offer her protection, whilst another part told him to stay away as far as possible.

He looked up from his reverie. She now strode off to go inside the massive sprawling complex. It wouldn't be long before he would see her again. For now, he sat up on his perch, watching the building carefully. Deep within him, something was starting to stir to life…a dark beast of beasts.

* * *

A/N: So how was that? Please TELL me what you think!!


	2. The Call

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto

WARNING: This story is rated M for language and mature themes.

A/N: Thanks to those of you that reviewed! Lots of love! Bear with me if the beginning is a bit slow. I'm still trying to get my train of thoughts completely as to how I want this to progress.

**Chapter 2: The Call**

Sakura sighed softly as the busy work-pace began to let out. All she had done the whole shift was fill out papers, and treat minor injuries. She sat down in the chair, only to jump up suddenly. '_Sitting down is __**not**__ going to get rid of that itch'_ she thought. She began to pace the floors back and forth. '_Only five more hours to go, how exciting'_ she remarked.

XxXxX

The Uchiha strode through the streets of Konoha, wondering how he was going to try and face Rock Lee in their spar at sundown. Not seriously thinking, he wandered aimlessly. As he approached a bridge, a kunai suddenly landed in front of him. He slid back, eyes scanning the buildings around him and hand straying to his weapons pouch.

A masked face stared back at him. He relaxed instantaneously. "How can I help you?"

"Lady Tsunade requests your presence immediately."

Sasuke was undisturbed at this thought, his face betraying no emotion. Picking up the ANBU's kunai, he called out: "Hey, don't forget about this!" And proceeded to chuck it up to the man. Without looking back, the man caught the kunai and continued on his way to deliver more messages.

Sasuke stared up the hill at the faces of the past and present Hokages. He sighed and started walking to the central office.

XxXxX

Naruto grimaced in pain, quite sure that his whole left side would be bruised if he took off his shirt. He grinned at the thought of having surprised Sakura before she had known that it was him. The street vendors and shops didn't appeal to him now.

Somebody attempting to mask his or her chakra stepped out of the shadows from an alley behind him. Walking away nonchalantly, he shimmered out of sight then appeared right behind the person, hand over mouth and arm around the waist. He quickly dragged whoever it was back into the alleyway. Letting go of the person's mouth, he held a kunai to his possible assailant's throat.

"Who are you?"

His assailant gasped for air. "Hi-" a soft voice attempted to answer before coughing.

"Hinata?!" Suddenly, he was very aware of how close they were. How close the hand that held the kunai was to her chest, how close he had involuntarily pulled her to him when he recognized her voice. He flipped her around, and buried his head in the nape of her neck.

Hinata stood there in Naruto's embrace, heart racing. When her pulse finally got back down to normal, Naruto spoke.

"_Hinata. _Don't _ever_ try that again." His voice was raspy against her ear. The way he had said her name, it was with extreme endearment. Her chest began to heave once again. His voice was huskier and had a dangerous edge when he whispered, "You have no idea how close you were from meeting death." Still, he held her close. She finally relaxed completely in his arms and embraced him, happy for some solid comfort.

Naruto didn't have to look up to know that there was someone else there with them. Without bothering to look or let go of Hinata he called out to the person. "Hello Neji."

Hinata stiffened at the mention of the name and tried to break away from his grasp, but he held her tighter.

Neji Hyuuga stepped out of the shadows. His cool silvery-lilac eyes held an even gaze with the sky blue eyes of his fellow shinobi. "How are you doing, Naruto? Hinata?"

Hinata turned her head shakily to meet her cousin's gaze. The briefest of smiles lingered upon his face as she blushed furiously. She begged, "Neji-san, please, don't-"

His voice cut hers off suddenly. "Don't do what?" He gazed up at Naruto once again. "Don't hurt your Naruto-kun?" He whispered silently. Hinata shuddered violently in Naruto's arms. Neji noticed this, but his voice and face betrayed no emotions. "Oh don't worry about Naruto at all Hinata. He knows of what consequences he will face if he dares to hurt you."

As if by magic, Hinata felt her body weakening. Naruto's familiar chakra was now coursing through her body, relaxing her from within. She collapsed into his arms, gazing into his face, which betrayed no emotion whatsoever. Only his eyes showed his extreme regret and reluctance of his actions.

He scooped her now limp body into his hands and eyed Neji Hyuuga steadily. "What is it? What did you want to tell me that you didn't want Hinata to hear?"

Hinata's cousin stood firm on the ground as he answered. "Lady Tsunade wants to see you, Kiba, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and I immediately in her office. Kiba will join us a little later, as he is currently indisposed of." Naruto glared at him, and leapt away, still holding onto Hinata tightly.

XxXxX

He slid behind a tree. Whoever his pursuers were, they were persistent. He would give them that much. Another kunai whizzed past his ear and he pulled out his own to counter attack. Suddenly…he was sinking into the ground. He felt nothing…nor did he hear anything. One minute, he was up in the open fresh air…the next minute…he was being dragged down through the earth into heaven knows where…and what really sucked was the fact that he, the _chief strategist_ of Konoha…was actually **captured**…

XxXxX

"Do any of you know why you are here in my office right now?"

Five pairs of eyes glared at back at her tawny ones. _Teenagers…they'll just stay all moody and not answer me…_

"We have received reports of attacks in the outskirts of Suna. Our dear ally, the Kazekage there has requested for help. Because you are all classified as Jounin and have been looking to become part of ANBU, I'm sending you on this mission."

"You had ANBU drag me through the earth just to tell me this?!"

"What? It wasn't my fault. If you had been paying attention Nara, you would have recognized ANBU chakra," she retorted back.

"So we get to go to Suna and rel—"

"When do we leave for this mission?" Sasuke's cool voice cut through Naruto's words of dreams.

Tsunade grinned behind her mask of apparent calm. "Tomorrow. I know that all of you were supposed to be instated into ANBU tomorrow as well, but…you may consider this the last test before you actually get to become one."

The five sets of glowing orbs were back on her now.

"How serious is this mission? What bits and pieces of uncensored knowledge _do_ we get to know?" Neji got down to the point.

"Gaara-san of Suna has more briefing information than I do, but as far as we know currently, it involves one of our shinobi…a few years back."

"What do you mean it involves one of our shinobi?" Kiba's voice was curt.

Tsunade eyed the young man. "It involved one of our shinobi being attacked a few years back on a mission in the outskirts of Suna. That attacked involved our shinobi being injured and the death of the man the shinobi was assigned to protect. Also, the attacks now are pointing to the possible covering of evidence by someone that we assume is Akatsuki. We have decided to reopen the case because there is sufficient evidence that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki are involved. "

At the mention of Orochimaru, Sasuke found four pairs of eyes upon himself. He stared impassively ahead to Tsunade.

He finally broke the silence. "And you think that I should go because?"

"I have complete faith in you. You have managed to prove to all of us that you are worthy of coming back to our village and you have worked your way up our ranks without any doubt of you not being a _traitor_ to Konoha. If any of your teammates doubts you as of now, they have full assertion of my faith in you to find the truth in this mission."

XxXxX

Sakura practically ran out of the hospital in joy to get to the ramen shop. '_Finally, something that doesn't involve me being cooped up,' _she thought. She arrived at the ramen shop, only to find it completely void of her blonde haired teammate.

"You won't find him here. In fact, you won't find him here for awhile." She whirled around to face the one and only Copy-nin leaning against a post in the shadows, kunai twirling around his finger and one arm crossed against the other.

"Hello Kakashi-senpai." It was now about three years, and yet she still refused to drop her title of endearment for him. "What exactly do you mean that I won't find him here for awhile?"

"Most of the Rookie Nine have been sent off on a mission."

She stepped back. "You mean even Ino-pig and Ten-ten?"

"No…just the males, Nara, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Naruto, and Sasuke." At the mention of Sasuke's name, her voice skipped a beat and at the same time, she noticed a sound of pain in her former sensei's voice.

"Oh…" she stepped back from the bright light of the shop. "I guess I'll be off to my apartment for some sleep then."

Kakashi nodded his head in acknowledgement and poofed away, only after he had bid her goodbye.

XxXxX

She opened the door to her apartment, exhausted after the day's ordeal, and sad to find that her friends were soon to leave.

She left the lights off and headed to her bedroom. She was much too preoccupied in her thoughts to bother walking around her apartment to check if everything was where she left it.

XxXxX

He sat in the frigid air, watching the young kunoichi walking around. For the past few months, he had even willingly showed his face to her during the day. But tonight was going to change all of it.

XxXxX

As she hung up her clothes, her mind drifted over to the empty ramen shop and to Kakashi's words. _Sasuke._ Even though she was now eighteen, five years wiser than she had been, she still thought of the boy she had crushed upon…and now…what was this new feeling? Ever since he had come back two years ago things had almost gone back to as it was pre-Orochimaru days. She found that she had some _feeling_ for him…but she couldn't exactly describe it in detail. He was friendly with her…but then again, he was friendly with everyone else. He had continued with the ninja way of life and was now at and equal level to her. However, she didn't know if she'd call their relationship (if it was actually a relationship) love or friendship.

She'd been seeing some other guy, not in the shinobi business for the past year now and she was happy in this relationship. But even then, there were many things about the man, Daichi that she was happy with. He seemed so familiar, but yet so distant. She wantonly wondered if she'd see him sometime soon.

Walking out of her bathroom, she hummed a small tune to herself when suddenly, she met a pair of gray eyes through the mirror. She turned around, fists already laden with chakra. When she saw who it was sitting in her window, she relaxed.

"Dai, do you have any idea how close you were from being pummeled?"

"Sorry. I just couldn't help it."

She smiled sweetly. "I wish you'd stop trying to prove to me that you are just as good as a shinobi."

"Well…that's something I can't help."

She gave him _the_ look. "And why can't you help it?"

He didn't respond to her teasing. "Actually I came here tonight to make up for something."

She perked up. "What do you mean?"

He didn't reply, but leapt off her window and quickly covered the distance between them. She found herself unable to speak as she was pulled deeper into a sweet kiss. Her hands wrapped around his neck as their kiss deepened. Her fingers were sensitive to his hair…suddenly, she felt something very different…something was happening to Daichi…

She pulled away and froze. Instead of gray eyes staring back at her…it was onyx…onyx black eyes staring at her…She was frozen in his embrace. Her heart began to race. Her hands now rested upon his black-dress-shirt-covered chest.

"_Sakura…"_ His voice was soft, hesitant even. "I haven't been completely honest with you. I am not who I pretended to be." Her face was blank. Her eyes registered no emotions. But her hands…her soft hands…the same hands that could deliver a bone-crushing blow, were still tightly gripping his shirt. She stared directly at his chest.

_I tried to be perfect,  
But nothing was worth it,  
I don't believe it makes me real.  
I thought it'd be easy,  
But no one believes me,  
I meant all the things I said._

Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes and leaked down her cheeks. He stared at her, afraid of what he might have done. Suddenly, she gave out a small cry and threw herself to him, burying her head deep in his chest. All she wanted to do was be immersed by his masculine arms and just inhale his scent until it became a part of her.

He slowly lowered his head to rest it upon her head. "_I hope that you can forgive me. There's so much I have to make up to you."_

* * *

**A/N:** I just wanted to let you readers know that the last part of this Chapter was written under the influence of the song "Pieces" by Sum41. I really believe that the song can fit the last few paragraphs. I had formerly debated whether that paragraph would appear in this Chapter or not but thanks to the song…it is now here. Let's see if you can figure out who our mysterious "Daichi" really is!

Please Review!!


	3. Wishful Thinking

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

WARNING: This story is rated M for language and mature themes.

A/N: Thanks to those of you that reviewed! And special thanks to Juniper11 for helping me decide on how to proceed with this story!

**Chapter 3: Wishful Thinking**

Sakura awoke the next morning to the morning breeze entering her room. She wistfully stared out the window, wondering why she felt so exhausted yet relieved at the same time.

Her eyes were slow to see that he was perched upon the window sill, looking out at the sun's unforgiving light.

She yawned and sat up fully. Now her eyes caught sight of the dark shirted man sitting in the window. She was instantaneously awake, but suddenly _shy._

As if reading her mind, the man turned around and gently leapt off of the ledge. He walked over to the bed, where she huddled like a child. Placing his fingers under her chin, he lifted her head up and gently kissed her. Opening her eyes wider in shock, Sakura didn't stop him from ravaging her lips. He pulled back wistfully and simply said, "I have to go. They'll be missing me if I don't show up."

She could only nod her head mutely and once more, he pulled her into a kiss, a sort of desperate kiss, one that suggested the dangerous life of shinobi. When she opened her eyes, he was gone.

XxXxX

They flew through the treetops, five blurs to human eyes.

"Did Lady Tsunade say anything new?"

Shika regarded Sasuke with a cool eye. Now, all three of them were dressed in ANBU issued uniforms and with face masks in place, no person, shinobi or not would be able to tell them apart except for the hair color, and that one damned Uchiha clan symbol that _someone __**refused**_ to not wear. Instead, he had worn the clan symbol, but a miniature version of the usually large fan he'd used to wear. He sighed. "No, she hasn't given us any more information." He motioned for his fellow shinobi to follow his lead. Both men reduced their speed as their comrades sped on ahead.

Without looking at the Uchiha, Shikamaru talked in a low voice. "Even though she didn't mention so, I have a feeling that this mission has something to do with you. Something to do with the time that you were under Orochimaru."

Sasuke smirked. _I like the way this guy talks. He just gets straight to the point. _Out loud, he said, "I don't know if I'd have anything to do with this mission until we get to the site of the investigation. After all, I was traveling through several places while I was under Orochimaru's apprenticeship."

Shika nodded his head. "That's what I thought. Thank you for telling the truth."

Sasuke hn-d in reply. They continued on for a long time before Sasuke broke the silence. "You're a pretty straightforward guy when it comes to asking things."

Shika grinned under his mask. "I had a feeling that you probably wouldn't be hiding anything if I asked you a question." Glancing over quickly, he saw that the Uchiha had rolled his eyes.

"So…um…how did that thing go?" A new voice cut in. Both men looked at the speaker in surprise and nearly went crashing through a tree. Pulling out of harms way, Shika motioned for all of them to make a quick stop.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, and found four pairs of eyes on him. _Damn it, why the hell did I let them in?_ "It was…fine, I guess."

Kiba barked (sorry! No pun intended!), "What do you mean 'you guess'?"

Sasuke inwardly cringed. Now, he just wished that he could melt into a hole in the ground. What he would've give to not have to ask other guys for advice…regarding a girl…

"Com'n! Tell us! What happened? You can't ask the four of us for help with that damn hot girl and not expect us to ask you how your little fling went."

_Oh crap. What the hell do I tell them? _"I, um, appeared to her as Daichi," at this, all the guys chuckled, "and mid-kiss, I transformed. She seemed to take it pretty well." More snorting and laughter greeted his confession. He prayed, _Oh Kami, please don't ever let them find out how she reacted! _

Naruto chuckled. "Wow, well, I'm glad that the little 'initiation' part is completed. We've seriously got to get you into a bar to celebrate!" With that, he guffawed and leapt off into the trees before Sasuke AKA The Silent Killer, could get to him.

Neji rolled his eyes as Kiba wolf whistled and gave him a friendly punch as he leapt off to follow Naruto.

"Troublesome. We are a group of grown and mature ANBU operatives, aren't we?"

The remaining three laughed and followed the tails of their comrades.

XxXxX

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNOoooooooooo!! I don't want to go to the hospital!! I don't wanna see a doctor!"

Ino struggled to grab the little ninja-in-training's hand and poof them into her hospital. Unfortunately for her, one foot was in the air when he gave a particularly strong tug. She let go of the boy's hand as she fell to the ground. She flipped gracefully midfall so that she landed on her feet solidly.

Looking, up, she only saw the dust left by the boy who had run off, unmistakably, to hide from the adept medic.

She sighed and brushed her hair from her eyes. _Great, just what I needed._

"Ino!" She looked up, only to see a pink haired ninja walking towards her with the said little devil under her arms, securely positioned so that flailing limbs could not hit anything.

"Oh gosh! Thank the kami's for you Sakura! I don't know what I would've done without your help!" Her pink-haired friend could not help but laugh.

Sakura nearly choked mid-laugh when Ino flat out asked her, "So who's the new guy you've been dating for sometime? You haven't told me anything yet!" Ignoring the question, she regained her composure and started to head back to the hospital.

Running as fast as she could with the little boy under her arms, Ino whined, "Oh come on! I've told you everything about my relationships, surely you can tell me something?"

Sakura sighed.

**A/N: I'm sorry for not posting up sooner! If any of you have any suggestions for songs that might stimulate my understimulated brain for writing more, feel free to drop a note through PM or in a review! Any suggestions welcomed! **

**Don't forget to review!!**


	4. Sasuke's Lessons

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.

WARNING: This story is rated M for language and mature themes.

A/N: Thanks to those of you that reviewed! Now we're taking a trip to the beginning of "Daichi" and Sakura's relationship!

_Previously:_

_Sakura nearly choked mid-laugh when Ino flat out asked her, "So who's the new guy you've been dating for sometime? You haven't told me anything yet!" Ignoring the question, she regained her composure and started to head back to the hospital. _

_Running as fast as she could with the little boy under her arms, Ino whined, "Oh come on! I've told you everything about my relationships, surely you can tell me something?"_

_Sakura sighed._

Chapter 4: Sasuke's "Lessons"

Sasuke had returned to the village some months ago, closer to a year. He dragged himself through the streets of Konoha in broad daylight to the Hokage's office and simply turned himself in. No one knew what he had said to the Hokage, and the only two who did know, himself and Tsunade were very unlikely to tell anyone what had transpired.

After being assigned six months time of probation, which he served dutifully, Sasuke began seeing the members of his former team more and more often. Of course his rivalry with the man whom he'd have to call his best friend was still there.

He had even met his substitute, Sai and wasn't surprised that his sensei from before was still the same perverted old man. However, after being assigned onto various missions with his teammates, he had begun to realize exactly what he had missed.

Naruto was nothing close to a player, but he could stand his ground pretty damn well. He might act like the village idiot, but when the situation called for absolute seriousness, Naruto became a force to be reckoned with. Sai had learned to socialize much better from the last time they met, and had even begun to paint art for galleries. Kakashi was now alternating service between jounin and ANBU and was still willing to help him out. And Sakura, the once annoying girl, had grown into a damn vixen that men couldn't keep their hands off of. She was no longer the useless one, but instead, the one that covered their backs in the middle of fights, the one who could one second be healing them, and then another second be destroying enemy nin.

On more than one occasion, he had had a mission to serve alongside her, but he found that she was perfectly adept at serving such missions alone. Whilst he was gone, she had grown and become something he didn't recognize. Physically, the damnable pink hair and flashing emerald eyes were the same, but everything else? That was a whole other matter.

At around the same time he had celebrated his fifth month anniversary of coming back to the village, he began to realize that he was actually lonely for feminine companionship. During his solitude with Orochimaru, he had well learned the arts of pleasure, and if he felt up to it, he'd pick up a girl from here or there and proceed to take her on a ride that she wouldn't forget. However, there was never a girl who could satisfy his thirst for something more.

Not knowing exactly how she felt about him NOW as opposed to when they were preteens, he had sought the advice of the male members of the Rookie 9. Their advice went far from what he really wanted.

Neji had told him to never get into a fight with a ninja girlfriend, and that if he did, he should first lose his pride and prepare a gratuitous sorry gift, and then proceed to humor her as she wished.

Rock Lee, on the other hand said that any woman could be pleased by promises of physical performance, such as push-ups, crunches and etc., etc. But then again, that was Rock Lee.

Shino had told him that looking a girl in the eye was worth very much in the feminine scale of approval and had hinted for Sasuke to try something with the Sharingan.

Kiba advised for him to show her affection at the times when she least expected it.

Chouji had told him to make sure that her kitchen was always well stocked with food, or else when "that time of the month" came, he'd be in deep shit.

Shikamaru said, "Why bother? Women are troublesome."

And Naruto? Naruto had only grinned and told him, "Sorry mate, but you're asking the wrong person. I think that our stoic boy has finally gotten himself LOVESICK!"

_Was that true? Was that even possible, what Naruto had said?_ Sure, while Sakura had been out of town, he'd been more moody.

When he had tried to ask her out, she'd turned him down politely because she had actually been _seeing someone outside of the village!_ That really struck the nerves of the normally emotionless seeming man by the name of Sasuke Uchiha. It had taken awhile for him to slowly come to the conclusion that he may still have a chance. Sure enough, she had come back to the village after a mission with fists ready to strike at anyone. Unfortunately, Naruto got the receiving end of that blow.

Bothered by Sasuke's sudden pestering questions about how to actually _treat_ a woman, the boys from Rookie 9 had cornered the Uchiha and asked him flat out what he was trying to accomplish. Scoffing at them, the Uchiha made excuses for his questions and left them, disappearing into a puff of smoke.

Neji looked over at Shikamaru. "I'm intrigued. That Uchiha is really in denial about something. What do you think?"

Shika had his arms behind his head and didn't even bother to face the Hyuuga when he said, "Beats me. Why should we worry? He's always seemed to handle his own problems just fine."

"His chakra flow is really interrupted. Something BIG must be bothering him."

Being his usual crack-ass self, Naruto said, "Who knows, maybe he has erectile dysfunction and some chick got pissed 'cause he couldn't lay her."

Shika started to twitch and he slowed down his walking. "Alright. What is it that you want me to do anyways?"

Naruto and Neji exchanged glances. "Well," Naruto began, "for starters, you could always help us dig to the bottom of the truth."

**X**x**X**x**X**

That was only the beginning to their stalking of the Uchiha heir. They drew dates and covered for one another while someone was off on a mission. They'd follow him through the streets of Konoha as he shopped for food and vegetables (yes, the Uchiha actually shopped for _**vegetables!**_)

He'd then stop by the training grounds and when none of them were sparring him, they'd keenly observe who he sparred against and what he did. However, they drew the lines at the shower for spying on him as none of them really felt like they needed to go there.

It was after about maybe two weeks of the constant charades that Naruto found himself hanging in a tree upside down, held in place not by his own chakra laden feet, but by a set of kunai out of the pouch of the Uchiha's weaponry case. And the fact that the Sharingan heir had also felt a need to tightly bind his hands with chakra-laden rope didn't help his already hopeless case.

The said man soon appeared on the ground below him, red Sharingan eyes activated. Naruto silently cursed. "Alright! What's with hanging me by the feet and tying my hands?"

The Sharingan user remained impassive. "I want answers."

The blue-eyed-man scrunched his brows together. "Whaddya mean you want answers?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"Look Sasuke, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."

The dark man growled out his words, "Cut the crap and just admit that you've been following me for the past few days."

A jolt of surprise visibly ran through the Kyuubi container before his face was plastered with a grin. "I'm not gonna lie. We-ahem-I wanna know what's gotten you so worked up these past few weeks."

"Naruto. Big mistake. You mentioned a "we." Who's working with you." At this point, Sasuke had his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Well just a couple of the guys and I."

"Oh really, just a couple of guys?"

"Well, more like the guys from the Rookie—" Naruto was cut off short by Sasuke's sound of incredulous belief.

Sasuke clenched his jaws and pinched the bridge of his nose. The cerulean eyed-man waited patiently.

_**I told you that you shouldn't have gone to them for help**_, his inner conscience told him.

_**Shut up and let me think of a solution to get out of this.**_

Inner conscience then snorted. _**Yeah, 'cause your great plan to get advice on that girl by asking them really worked.**_

_**I said, shut up! I'm thinking!**_

_**Apparently you aren't thinking fast or hard enough.**_

Bright red eyes snapped open as Naruto whip-lashed his head at the sound of a very familiar voice.

"Hi guys! Watcha doing, more training?"

Sasuke lost his concentration and the ropes binding Naruto's hands together slipped off. Thank the kami's that Naruto smoothly replied to their former teammate that they had indeed been training and now they were just taking a forced break from a standstill.

To both men's surprise, the pink haired girl—_**Woman, she's not a girl anymore—**_Sasuke chided himself, pulled out her gloves and started to put them on.

"Well, I hope you guys don't mind if I join." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her and she stared unflinchingly back into his still apparent Sharingan eyes. Naruto's trademarked grin threatened to crack his face in half as he slowly rubbed his hands together to get the flow of blood and feeling back.

"I don't mind at all. What about you Sasuke, do you think you go a couple more rounds?"

At the mention of the words with double meaning, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'm fine, but I don't know if you're gonna match my stamina, if you know what I mean." Then a smirk appeared on his face and became positively provocative.

Sakura raised and eyebrow then just punched the ground. After that, the race ensued. Naruto had saw the punch coming and had timed his teleportation jutsu perfectly. Sasuke let himself drop to the ground and from the cover of the shifting earth, he attempted a fire jutsu.

Sakura was quick and leapt off into the branches of a tree as one of the Uchiha's trademark jutsus went roaring past her. However, she had not caught sight of Naruto's teleportation jutsu and as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, she was pulled down in surprise. As they descended towards the ground, they exchanged blows as best they could.

Seeing that his fire jutsu had no effect, Sasuke ran to the place where the rosette woman and her blonde opponent were falling towards. As soon as one foot hit solid ground, Sakura spun a 360 degree kick aimed towards Sasuke. Not yet using his Sharingan, he ducked right in time as Naruto managed to grab Sakura's arms and pull her off balance from her kick. She shifted feet, only to fly over his head and pull him over to the ground. Landing with a sickening thud, she didn't stop to check the damage inflicted for the raven haired man was now nowhere to be seen and that spelled trouble.

The said man was currently floating right above the cherry blossom, strategizing his next move, which would have to happen in five seconds. He pulled out kunai and threw them but only the clang of metal upon metal reached his ears. Before he knew it, the little vixen was actually right behind him! She was moving too fast for him to react and all he remembered before the darkness took over was a foot slamming into his face.

"Wow Sakura, I think you've killed him."

"Oh shut up, he's gotta be tougher than that!" Sasuke thought he could detect traces of worry in their female teammate's voice.

"I mean seriously…he's been out for awhile…"

"OH! I didn't mean to kick him that hard!"

Suddenly, Sasuke could feel one of his teammates' chakra flare as the person snickered and started to laugh out loud. Keeping his cool so that his chakra wouldn't give warning as to what he was about to do, Sasuke quickly balled up his hands before lunging upwards with his whole body.

Naruto landed far from his original spot besides Sakura, and before Sasuke could completely land to pummel him some more, Sakura had appeared before him and was finishing off a set of fast jutsus to bind him down.

"BOYS! ENOUGH!" Naruto winced as her roar reached his ears. Sasuke was on the ground, bound by chakra restraint ropes and an annoyed Sakura stood over him, arms akimbo. Lowering her voice to normal tones, she said, "Sasuke, I think you need to rest. I checked you head for any possible signs of a concussion or hemorrhaging, but I think you'll be fine since I didn't find anything dire. However, you might have a slight headache even though the bruising was healed."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in indifference, but inside, the Uchiha pride was starting to seethe.

**X**x**X**x**X**

Sakura went home feeling very guilty. She didn't usually beat up her boys like that and perhaps she had gotten a bit too overexcited in the match.

She walking as she passed her bathroom mirror. Stopping in her tracks, she stared at herself. Wide, brilliant emerald eyes stared back at her. She had fair skin, despite the fact that she barely had time to actually worry about hair care and skin care and the such. It was funny to her how just a few years back, she was the one in need of protection, and now, she was the one watching out for her boys' backs. She had already made it into the bingo books, renowned for her superior strength and temper, not unlike her sensei. She was also renowned as a medic and she had tutelage under several great legendary medics. She was the ideal ninja, capable of serving and protecting the people.

However, there was one area in which she greatly lacked…and of course, it would be the area of personal relationships. Sure, balancing life between shifts at the hospital and missions was no easy thing, but other kunoichi had been able to have agreeable long-lasting relationships. Sakura just didn't understand where she went wrong. Sure, there had been relationships with men, mostly ninjas, with a few brave civilians, but it just never seemed like it was worth much. With civilians, it was hard to cross the initial borderline about her profession, and with ninjas, it just felt too weird since they'd all worked together at some point in time. But what most men had wanted from her, as early as she could remember, was just the pleasure derived from the female body. Not what she wanted in a relationship. After all, she wasn't going to become some guy's fuck buddy because even though she was a kunoichi, and even though her line of profession tread a fine line on ethics, it wasn't in her moral sense right to just go sleeping with any and every man.

There were days when she'd think, _I don't need men in my life. I've got enough things going on right now and they'd just mess up my fragile balance._ And yet, there were also days when she kept wondering if she was just weirdly genetically mutated to put off the male sex. But then again, was it them, or was it her?

**X**x**X**x**X**

According to _someone's_ predictions, he did wake up with a brilliant headache. _Ugh. I've got to remember to take her out before something like that happens again._ He pulled himself out of bed to throw open the blinds of the window. The sun lit up the vast expanse of the Uchiha compound. It was barren, left alone by the villagers, especially after he had left eight years ago. The sole resident of the vast compound, he found himself walking alone in the shadows even though he was supposed to be happy, happy at the fact that Danzo was now dead, Itachi's name had been cleared, and the village elders disbanded in favor of new ones. Madara had been eliminated as well, but event hough everything had been rectified at some point or another, he was still cast to the shadows.

The lessons he had learned whilst being a missing nin had become scars both mentally and physically. He had come back to the village, almost an empty shell, with Naruto welcoming him back with a punch. Slowly but surely, he tried to mend the bridges he had all but cast off when he left eight years prior. But the one bridge he wanted, he could not have.

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I have something to say to you."_

_Sasuke regarded the female carefully. "Hn." _

_Luminescent eyes glazed with a stony fire stared straight back. Unblinkingly, she stated, "This isn't going to be the fond 'welcome back' everyone else has given you. I am…glad that you have returned to this village. However, I cannot forgive you for what you've done to Team 7, all the ninjas, all the villages and to the history of our people. Yes, you have rectified great wrongs, but in doing so, you dragged all of us down to the deepest pits of hell and back again."_

_He regarded her with cool eyes. Not accusing, just accepting._

"_Hear me out carefully. I cannot forgive you until you prove to be something more than a monster, which has caused so much damage. I will work with you only because I have to and it is my duty to ensure the safety of all peoples. I do not work with you because I want to, and if for some reason, you should appear to take steps to betray this village, I will, and have no qualms about, incapacitating you."_

_Hearing such words forced him to look into her eyes. They weren't the bright emotional ones he had remembered from his youth. These were eyes capable of killing intent for any occasion. And this specific occasion involved him, and his life. _

"_I hope you understood all that I say, because I will be watching." With that, she disappeared in a flurry of blossoms. _

She was a true two-faced woman. Over the months, she had given him fair warnings about her threat. Once, he had ended up being sick for days, most likely from poisoning that she could explain, and once again, just yesterday.


End file.
